Change of Heart
by Shivaness
Summary: Once again Shiva is trapped in an unknown and odd world which she is unable to leave and is nearly taken in by the heartless until a blond mercenary known as; Cloud, rescues her. Both can be quite stubborn and while similar in some ways, both have difficulty trying to bond with each other. How will things turn out in the end and will she able to return home?


The gates to the Olympus Coliseum burst open as a figure shot straight out of it and rolled through the rough floor. Abruptly stopping with a small dust of sand hovering over her, the female known as Shiva arose. Sand had gotten in her mouth as she spit out whatever sand remained in her mouth.

"Ugh...nasty" she said while dusting herself off.

Before her; Olympus Coliseum. Never had she stumbled upon such a distinct world. Pillars, concrete and sand covered the majority of this world. Shiva carried a duffel bag over her shoulders with a katana sheathed on her waist as she looked around for any sort of building. Knowing not what to expect, Shiva casually walked through the giant doors of the Coliseum to find a small Satyr attending to a roster while muttering to himself. Curious little fella as Shiva took the time to examine the room which was pretty empty considering nothing aside the Satyr decorated the room. Empty slots on the walls, as if something was meant to be placed there, yet nothing filled it. The Satyr finally noticed Shiva as he walked over to her and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, miss, but the arena is closed due to a recent accident. No tournaments will be held for quite some time. Feel free to come back once the arena has been re-opened" he said.

"Pardon for the inconvenience, but I'm rather lost and I'd like to know of a way out of this place. There was a small...incident and I wish to return" said Shiva.

"Don't you have a Gummi Ship or something you came here in?" he asked.

"...Gummi ship? I don't understand. I didn't arrive here on my will. I just need a way to get out of here" said Shiva.

"I'm afraid I can't help ya there. By the way, what's your name? I can probably fill you up in one of the dorms temporarily. Since the arena has been shut down, all the heroes left to take a break or train somewhere else. So I'm sure there's a room in here for ya. The name's Philoctetes, but you can call me Phil" he said.

"Nice to meet you, Phil. You mentioned heroes...as in heroes from other worlds come here to fight in this one spot? How come I've never heard of it..." said Shiva.

"Heroes from everywhere come here to fight in the legendary Olympus Coliseum to prove themselves. They fight all sorts of creatures in front of crowds and it's simply spectacular! Sad that Hades had to ruin it just because he wanted to get through Herc, now we have to fix it all up" said Phil.

"Hades?" asked Shiva.

"Yeah, Lord of the Underworld. Now that's one guy I've gotta warn ya to stay away from. Luckily Herc managed to rough down Cerberus before the kid with the key and his friends finished him off. If not, it would've been hectic! I'll go check the rooms in the meantime. Just don't stray off too far, there are these creatures called the heartless who roam around and will snatch your heart at any given chance" said Phil before walking off.

The place seemed huge, so she figured some local wandering would kill off the time. Exiting the doors of the lobby, there wasn't much to stare at outside besides the two giant spartan statues and a few unlit torches. The sand which covered the ground gave her an awful taste in her mouth as she spit out non-existent sand and twitched. No activity could be seen for the time she took to examine the small area surrounding her until something appeared at the corner of her eye; a portal. Drawn to it by curiosity, the dark and eerie vibe didn't seem to bother her at the moment until she stepped in. The portal remained open upon entering, even if she walked off ways from it. No pure light penetrated this dark atmosphere, except for the purple flames that dimly lit a pathway along the way. Following it with mild caution, it felt rather quiet for such a place. Then again she didn't even know where she was. Shiva was sure she had been wandering long enough, so turning back now would be a good idea. Just as she was about to turn around, black pools began to form in front of her. Tilting her head and crouching down to examine them, odd looking dark creatures formed out of them. Round head, some form of claws, odd shaped feet, antennas, and yellow beaming eyes. It wasn't just one or two that popped out, but half a dozen twitching creatures which slowly made their way over to her. Skeptical of the situation, she found it in her best interest to just start walking back to the portal. Just as soon as she had turned around, they all simultaneously jumped towards her in an aggressive manner. Having enough time to react, Shiva bolted out of there as fast as she was able to. Following the lit path back to the portal, it could be seen in the distance as it was still active. Only problem were the creatures which had multiplied during the small pursuit. Never had she encountered creatures so eager and synchronized just for one target. Avoiding having to fight these unknown creatures, the decision might have to change once she saw the portal begin to fade as she closed the distance. To make matters worse, the creatures began to spawn in front of it. Forced to stop in the middle of the surrounding creatures, Shiva had enough time to draw her katana and play offensively by striking first. They were an easy kill, but for every one that was killed, another would take its place. Endless gusts of dark smoke could be seen with every strike. Even then Shiva couldn't prevent some of the damage that was inflicted upon her here and there. It was an endless war and she was beginning to lose. Obviously they didn't want to kill her, but weaken her, and they were doing a good job at it. Try as much as she wanted, defeat was inevitable as they just wouldn't stop coming. The time came when Shiva was finally on her knees and dropped on her back. The creatures surrounded her as she weakly tried to fight them off but proved useless. Black puddle formed around her as everything went black. Something was leaving her body, and that something felt painful yet soothing. A light from her chest was slowly being drawn out and locked up memories were pouring through her brain, unpleasant memories. Memories she wished she would have forgotten. They were painful at first, but as the light was nearly lifted off of her, those memories began to soothe her aching, empty heart. Just as it was about to leave her body completely, it stopped. She heard noises which she couldn't describe or see. Those noises continued for a very short time before she felt something cold. Something or someone felt cold, but the thought faded when the light that had left her had returned to her once again. Shiva's senses had returned to her and the first thing she saw was a spiky headed blond speak to her from under his red cloak. Blinking as she was unable to hear him at first, the words echoed:

"_Are you alright"_

"I..seem to be alright for now. Don't know what just happened, but I'm alright..." said Shiva attempting to sit up.

There was a heavy feel on her chest that she couldn't describe, but was blaming it for her inability to get up. Dropping back down on the ground feeling rather weak, she shook her head as she examined her savior. To compliment his blond hair, he had unique glowing teal eyes, none that she's ever seen before. His face expression was blank and his crouching posture seemed uncomfortable when he wore three layers of stacked armor on his left leg and a metal shoulder pad on his left shoulder. Under the red cloak he wore a sleeveless turtleneck lined navy blue shirt, color matching pants and dark brown boots. His waist and pants were decorated with multiple belts. Yet the one thing that probably stood out the most was the ridiculously large blade which lay next to him. The blade was nearly his stature and the hilt only added to its length. As to why it was wrapped in bandages was beyond her, but she wasn't one to judge her savior.

"Would you like some help" he said.

"I said I'm fine...really...I'm fine" said the one still laying on the floor. "This is really...a nice spot".

"If you don't leave this place, the heartless will return for you" said the blond.

"So THOSE were the heartless. Yeah...I think I'll take up your offer" said Shiva.

Aiding her by helping her stand back up, Shiva felt uneasy and stumbled often. Refusing any further help from the blond, she noticed that the portal had reappeared. The small walk back to the lobby helped her re-settle back into her body as the blond kept quiet. Once inside the lobby, the blond continued to walk past Phil and into the arena. Phil rushed over to Shiva to check up on her.

"Hey kid, are you alright? I was worried sick! Looked around for ya and I couldn't find you" said Phil.

"Sorry, had another little incident...but the guy helped me out quite a bit" said Shiva.

"THAT guy?" said Phil.

"Yeah, him. Didn't catch his name though" said Shiva.

"Believe it was...Cloud Strife I believe. He's been here for quite some time. I'm not surprised he's one of the few who stayed here. Not really a social guy. Oh yeah! Found you a room you could stay in, at least until the mess gets all cleaned up" said Phil.

"Cloud, eh" said Shiva.

Phil guided her through the arena, which was quite the stage, and through the back where they had dorms for all the heroes who wished to stay long term during tournaments. Many had designated rooms, so Shiva was offered a temp room until everything was restored or until she was able to find a way out of here. The room itself was small, enough for one person. A bed, table, chair, attempt at a window, curtain and a bathroom. There was no form of entertainment but at least she didn't have to complain over thin walls since the dorm was made out of concrete and bricks. While not the most comfortable bed around, it was enough to get some decent sleep in. Providing her with the key for the room, Phil suggested to eat down the hall where food would be provided daily. It felt nice. Once Phil left, Shiva explored around the small room before tossing herself on the bed and think over the situation from earlier. The heartless snatched hearts. The light from her chest, was that her heart? Never did she imagine a heart being pure light, but then again she knew nothing of it. Unless the heart was a replacement for the soul here, it didn't make any sense. Even then, that uncomfortable in her chest continued to bother her, but thought nothing of it. It was a new experience and all she had to do is thank her savior for allowing her to continue living. Come to think about it, she never apologized to the man. Come to think of it, she didn't even ask him his name or anything.

"Ugh, aren't I terrible...I'll thank him first thing tomorrow. If I could find him..."said Shiva closing her eyes.

Drifting off into sleep, it was rather satisfying.


End file.
